Wireless computer networking has become one of the newest options for companies implementing networking in the office environment. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) provides small offices ease of mobility and networking without the traditional need for hard-wiring network cables from servers to clients or even peer to peer. For such small offices, a wireless computer network with a single wireless access point may well be sufficient.
However, implementing of wireless computer networks for a large office with a large floor space and a corresponding high number of users, presents a different set of problems. Several wireless access points may well be needed in the wireless computer network to allow every member of the office to be linked wirelessly.
Implementing such multi access point wireless computer network requires extensive planning by experienced and skilled professionals. Some of the design factors affecting design considerations are: number and location of the wireless access points, the number of users, transmission power and frequency channels used. There is also a need to know the applications to be supported by the wireless computer network. Some non limiting examples are: FTP, email and Video Streaming applications. Some of the key performance parameters that can be used to gauge the performance of the wireless computer network are: RF signal strength, Signal to Noise (S/N) Ratio, throughput, network delay and applications response time.
It is virtually impossible to predict the performance of such wireless networks especially in offices where structural elements and constraints of the building such as pillars and walls are predominant. More often than not, a physical site survey has to be conducted by an experienced and skilled site surveyor using wireless surveying equipment prior to the planning of the wireless computer network.
Such a survey disadvantageously requires expensive equipment and is time consuming. There is also an over-reliance on personal experience and skills of the site surveyor conducting the site survey to obtain suitable layouts which could satisfy the performance and design criteria of the wireless computer network to be planned.
Upon completion of the site survey, the results from the site survey which comprises values of performance parameters measured from some predetermined locations are analyzed. The analysis of these network performances together with other non-performance related design factors are then used to plan a wireless network in accordance with the requirements and structural layout of the desired site. These predetermined locations to be surveyed are disadvantageosuly at the discretion of the site surveyor and still very much dependent on his experience and judgement.
It can thus be seen that there exists a need for a simple and robust way for a method and system for using network performance contour overlays for the planning of a wireless computer network that can overcome the disadvantages of the existing prior art.